I received word on Monday of the very sudden death of Michael P. Fallon. In his first semester at Theological College (the Sulpician seminary at Catholic University in Washington), Michael was recently accepted as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington...and he couldn't have been happier. (It was the subject of the last email I received from him back in May.) In the face of many challenges--and big ones, besides--he desired nothing more than to be a priest. It seems that Michael suffered a heart attack while exercising in the seminary gym on Saturday. He was just 40 years old.
Though his Mom and Dad live in Maryland, Michael had some longtime family connections here in the Adirondack Mountains of the Diocese of Ogdensburg. During an "in between" time, he stayed with me for several months in the rectory in Old Forge. Michael was deeply devoted to his family, and will no doubt leave a gaping hole in the midst of his parents, his brothers and sister, and the next generation of little ones...of whom he could never stop
Michael's funeral will be celebrated tomorrow at the Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City, MD, with burial to follow in St. Michael's Cemetery in Mount Airy, MD.
Please join me in praying for Michael, for his grieving family, as well as for the seminary community he leaves behind.
Rest in peace, my friend.
3 comments:
So sorry to hear this news, Joe. Praying for comfort for you and all who knew him.
I am so saddened to learn of Mike's passing. Mike and I have been friends since we were 16years old. We lost touch in recent years and I regret that. We had many great adventures together (like sky diving) and i will cherish those memories I never imagined that I wouldn't be able to talk to him again. Mike had a great sense of humor, a big heart, a wonderful smile, and a welcoming personality. He was an amazing person and friend. I pray he is resting in peace and that his family is doing ok.
I babysat for Michael when he was a little tow-headed boy growing up on Edward Ave. in Bethesda, MD. I loved him and his family dearly, but have fallen out of touch over these many years. I learned from an old friend today of Michael's passing, so I took to the web to see what I might learn. In his picture you have posted here, I see not the face of the little boy I once knew, but the reflection of his wise and loving father...oh, how many years have passed. I am glad to have an image of him to fix in my mind's eye as a pray for him and his family, tonight and during many nights to come. Peace.
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